Major League Baseball

John Smoltz, Tom Glavine aren't surprised by ex-MLB teammate Deion Sanders' success

Updated Sep. 25, 2023 9:09 p.m. ET

I may be a baseball guy, but even I can't help but notice what Deion "Coach Prime" Sanders is doing in college football.

After all, he may have been way more famous for his Hall of Fame NFL career before becoming the head coach at Colorado, but he is also a former MLB player as well who recently said hitting a baseball is still the hardest thing he has ever done in sports.

Sanders spent parts of nine seasons playing at the highest level of professional baseball, including four with the Atlanta Braves from 1991-94.

So when I had not one but two of Sanders' former Braves teammates on "Flippin' Bats" this week — special guest Tom Glavine and my weekly guest, MLB on FOX analyst John Smoltz — I had to ask them what they thought of the early success that Sanders is having with the Buffaloes, which are off to a 3-0 start to the 2023 season after winning just one game last year prior to Sanders' arrival.

Smoltz said he saw Colorado's success coming even before many others did.

"He (Sanders) has all the intangibles, the experience, the motivation," Smoltz said. "He loves kids, and he loves the heart of an athlete. It's Deion being Deion. Look, they're gonna lose some games, there's no doubt. But what he does to that program and how he builds it is going to be second to none.

"I know a lot of people have a problem with how he did it, but Deion doesn't care about what other people think. … That's what makes him special. You've got to have thick skin, you've got to believe in what you do. He's the greatest athlete I've ever been around."

Glavine said that watching people marvel at Sanders' genuine personality reminds him of having a similar experience when the already-prolific football star joined the Braves from the New York Yankees in 1991.

"I think a lot of guys have the same perception of him that I did as a teammate," Glavine said. "He really was a good teammate. When we signed Deion, I think like a lot of guys who I've read articles that have been written about Deion lately, you know, we all had the same question like, 'Oh, my God. What's this guy gonna be like?' And he was a great teammate."

Part of the attention generated by Colorado has come from in-house. Sanders has said he has an input on everything from jerseys to merchandise to video content, much of which is filmed by his eldest son, Deion Jr. That also does not surprise Glavine, who said Sanders is one of the best marketers he has ever been around in sports.

"I think Deion was really at the forefront of the whole marketing thing," Glavine said. "When we were in the clubhouse, and there was nobody around, he was Deion. But the minute a camera was on him, or he was outside somewhere, it was 'Prime Time.' He knew how to flip that switch, and he was really, really good at it. But he was a ton of fun to be around."

Tom Glavine on why Deion Sanders is a successful college football coach

What Glavine marvels at most of all in Sanders' new chapter, however, is how he successfully he has made the transition from superstar athlete to dynamic coach.

"A lot of guys who are great players, it doesn't translate as coaches," Glavine said. "Because I think that, and I find myself doing that sometimes when I would coach my kids, you try to teach them something, you try to tell them something, and they can't get it. And sometimes you get frustrated because of your ability to get things or your ability to be successful.

"I think a lot of really good players have a hard time with that patience side of it. But Deion is a very faithful guy. He makes no mistake about his faith in God. I think that's what drives him and it gives him a peace about him when you're around him."

But when Glavine watches Sanders give his team inspiring speeches or pump up his players while leading them out of the tunnel, he recognizes the same attributes he saw in his then-teammate 30 years ago.

"Having been around him, knowing what a positive person he is, and also having that football side of things to where it's all about getting guys amped up and ready to play on Saturday afternoon — I think those are all things that he was really always really good at," Glavine said. "He's a calming influence on those kids that are playing for him, he's given them a ton of direction, and he's a very patient guy. He just wants what's best for those guys and tries to put them in situations where they can go out there and succeed, and they believe in him."

Belief has been a major theme of Sanders' messages to his team over the past few weeks.

"When you have the ability to make guys believe in you," Glavine said, "I think it certainly puts you in a position to where you can achieve some great things."

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